Shoe-tree



June 7,1927.

5. BATTlLANl SHOE TREE Filed April 15, 1926 V 2 Sheet sSheet 1 I v 15 1 I 10 w/ vr j 1 VIIIIII /4i, I I 7 IN VENT HA5 ATTORNEY June 7, 1927. 1,631,786

s. BATTlLANl SHOE TREE Filed April 15, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN l/EN TOR H/J A TTURNEY Patented June 7, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.STEFANO BATTILA NI, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEOE-TBEE.

Application filed April 15, 1926. Serial No. 102,179.

The invention relates to a shoe tree and has for its object to provide a shoe tree with a flexible arched toe piece adapted to conform with the contour of the fore part of the shoe and having rearwardly extending portions or portion to engage with the rear part of the shoe, said rearwardly extending part or parts being likewise flexible.

A device is produced which will naturally take the shape of the shoe and will insure in a very careful way maintaining the original form of the shoe and will not force the shoe to conform to the shape of the shoe tree. The improved shoe tree is very eflicient in its operation and self adjustable to different sizes of shoes.

Other objects and attendant advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of my invention and in the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings in which preferred embodiments of the invention are illustrated:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my improved shoe tree, showing it in place in a shoe, the

shoe being indicated in broken lines,

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a slightly different form,

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail bottom plan view showing a means of attaching the flexible rearwardly extending member to the toe piece,

Fig. 5 is a detail cross sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a side view of a modified form,

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of the form shown in Fig. 6, and,

Fig. 8 is a side view of another form.

Referring again to the drawings, the reference numeral 10 designates" the flexible arched toe piece. This member is constructed of comparatively thin springy material such as celluloid, fibre, sheet metal, etc., and has a rearwardly extending part 11 which engages with the back part of the shoe.

The flexible arched toe piece is formed withthe inturned portions or flaps 12. The material being of a very flexible nature this toe piece will readily conform itself to the contour of the fore part of the shoe to shoesof numerous different widths or sizes. The flaps 12 may extend only a very short distance along the sides of the toe piece or .degrees of flexibility.

they may stop at any desired point along the sides thereof. They may likewise extend inward any desired distance. It may also be advisable to make the flaps or the body of the toe piece of materials having varying As illustrated in Fig.1 the rearwardly extending member or portion 11 may be made entirely of a flexible material or it may have a flexible coiled part 13 at the rear end to abut against the back part of the shoe. This coiled part 13 may be made more flexible than the rest of the member 11 or any part of said member 11 may be made more or less flexible. This coiled part 13 or the flexibility of the entire member 11 will take care .of shoes of various lengths and will always force the arched toe piece in its desired position with a gentle pressure just suflicient to maintain the shoe in its original shape and not force it to conform to the shape of the shoe tree as practically all of these devices do on account of their positive action. a

In Fig. 2 the rearwardly extending part 11 is secured at 14 to the toe piece and while, as described in Fig. 1 the entire member may be flexible, in this form the part l3 particularly compensates for variations. in the lengths of different shoes. The rear part 15 rests against the rear part of the shoe and keeps the toe piece in place. The extension 11 may be made of the same material and integral with the toe piece or it may be made of a different material and rigidly or otherwise secured to the toe piece.

It ma be desirable in some forms to have the flexibility entirely in the arched toe piece and have the member 11 stifi' or with very little flexibility oron the other hand it may be advantageous to have the arched toe piece fairly rigid or with very little flexibility and have the member 11' very flexible.

In order to make the toe .piece more flexible I may cut slots or openings as indicated at 16. These openings may run crossways or lengthwise or in any desired direction.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate a method that might be employed if it is desired to make the toe piece. and the rearwardly extending member separate. The fore part of the rearwardly extending member may be tapered as shown at 17 and engage a tapered hole in a piece 18 secured to the under side of the toe piece.

members 11 or they-may be made of difl'erent material and secured to said members. When this form is inserted in a shoe the flexible parts will be forced together and the entire length of the members 11" will be gentl pressed against the sides of the shoe and keep the shoe in its proper shape.

Fig. 8 shows the toe piece 10 as being formed of the same material as the rearwardly extending member 11. The toe piece in this form may be of a fairly rigid construction and the flexibility be entirely in the member 11. An additional flexible loop 13 may be provided in this member 11. As illustrated this loop is shown as a complete circle in order to give great flexibility and it may be made in any desired way. The part 13 might be the same as the parts 20 in Fig. 7 or arts-20 in Fig. 7 might also be constructe as 13 in Fig. 8.

As previously explained it will be obvious from the foregoing that this improved shoe tree will keep the shoe in its original form and will not force the shoe out of shape as most of the shoe trees now in use do. The device will readily conform to sizes of shoes within wide limits, is simple and easy to manufacture.

The shoe tree may be made of any desired material as-long as it has the necessary flexibility. It may be partly or entirely ornamented in any Way or covered with silk or cloth or a coating of any desired nature. While it is primarily intended for use as a shoe tree it can readily be seen that it may be used as a form to display shoes for inspection or sale. It may be made of any desired height or width to suit different styles of shoes. While a high heeled slipper is illustrated and the part 11 is therefore raised up quite substantially it is obvious that in a tree for a low heeled shoe it would be advantageous to have the parts 11 extend rearwardly in substantially the same plane as the toe piece.

The fla s 12 might extend rearwardly as illustrat in Fi 8. In this Way the sides of the shoe will be given additional sup ort when the shoe tree is in place in the s 0e.

The slots or openings shown in Fig. 2 give an additional advantage in that they permit therrestriction of the toe piece when the shoe tree is being used for very narrow shoes or for takin care of the shapes in right and left han shoes. 1

While I have described preferred embodiments of my invention I wish it to be understood that numerous changes may be made in details or form without departing from the spirit of the invention asset forth in the appended claims.

What I desire to claim is:

1. A shoe tree comprising, a flexible arched toe piece having inturned fia s on each of its sides, said inturned flaps eing curved in cross section and adapted to rest against the inner sole of the shoe and cause said. toe piece to gently conform with the contour of the fore part of the shoe, and a rearwardly extending member to engage with the rear of the shoe, said member being flexible.

2. A shoe tree comprising, a flexible arched toe piece having inturned flaps on each of its sides, said inturned flaps beingpositioned away from the front end of the toe piece and being curved in cross section and adapted to rest against the inner sole of the shoe and cause said toe piece to gentl conform with the contour of the fore part of the shoe, and a rearwardly extending member to engage with the rear of the shoe, said member having flexible portions therein.

3. A shoe tree; comprising, a flexible arched toe piece having inturned-flaps on each of its'sides, said inturned flaps being curved in cross section and adapted to rest against the inner'sole of the shoe and cause said toe piece to gently conform with the contour of the fore part of the shoe and having slots suitabl placed therein so as to insure greater exibility, and a rearwardly extending member to engage with the 'rear of the shoe, said member being flexible.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

' STEFANO BATTILANI. 

